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Is Catfish kosher?

No — Catfish is not kosher under Jewish dietary law.

Not kosher. Catfish have no scales, which disqualifies them under the rule that a kosher fish must have both fins and scales (Leviticus 11:9-12).

Catfish (Siluriformes)

Image: Photo by authors of the images used: HalbsHännile Thomsonmg2000 Guillermo Enrique Terán, Juliano Ferrer, Mauricio Benitez, Felipe Alonso, Gastón Aguilera, Juan Marcos Mirande Luiz Fernando Caserta Tencatt, Maria Elina Bichuette Smithsonian Environmental Research Center Benutzer:Haps ปลาของเอเชียตะวันออกเฉียงใต้แผ่นดินใหญ่ (FiMSeA) Jansen Zuanon & Efrem J. G. Ferreira Chen X-Y, Qin T, Chen Z-Y CONTERALLY at Italian Wikipedia author of the collage: Kostka Martin · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · source

Scientific name
Siluriformes
Hebrew name
שפמנון
Also known as
Channel catfish, Blue catfish, Flathead catfish, Bullhead
Category
scaleless
Fins & scales
Fins ✓ , no scales ✗
Kosher status
Not kosher

About Catfish

Any of about 3,000 ray-finned fish in the order Siluriformes. Known for their prominent barbels ("whiskers") and smooth, scaleless skin.

Kosher ruling

Not kosher. Catfish have no scales, which disqualifies them under the rule that a kosher fish must have both fins and scales (Leviticus 11:9-12).

Source: Orthodox Union, Chabad, Aish HaTorah

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